


Roadtrip

by praising_the_foxes



Series: Neilmas2k19 [4]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: M/M, Neilmas2019, Roadtrip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 14:01:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18074747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/praising_the_foxes/pseuds/praising_the_foxes
Summary: Neilmas2k19: Free Day





	Roadtrip

Being on the road was no strange thing to Neil.

 _Wanting_ to be on the road– now that was strange.

But considering it was a roadtrip with  _Andrew_ , Neil shouldn’t have been so surprised.

It starts like any other day  _(when Andrew asked, that is)_.

It was winter break and due to the horrible weather, Kevin deemed it unfortunately unfit to train. So that left Andrew and Neil two weeks of freedom, seeing as Aaron fucked off with Katelyn, Nicky with Erik, and Kevin off with Wymack to spend their first ever Christmas together.

_“You know you can stay with us, right?”_

_“Coach, with all due respect, I’d rather let you and Kevin catch up on some necessary father-son bonding. And I’ll be with Andrew the whole time, so no worries.”  
_

So that left two blissful weeks alone with Andrew.

Later, when Neil was all settled, Neil clambered up to the roof, expecting Andrew to be up there, per usual.

He was.

“Hey,” Neil says in a surprisingly placid tone.

Andrew grunts.

Neil smiles. “Hi.”

Andrew turns at that, an eyebrow quirked, unimpressed.

“Hello.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

For once, Neil does. They stay like that until Andrew stubs out his third cigarette, but instead of following the usual script and heading back to the dorm, Andrew stays there and stares.

“How do you feel about a trip to Vegas?”

Neil is startled out of his stupor. “What?”

Andrew finally turns to Neil, repeating his question. “How. About. A trip. To Vegas?”

Neil is still in shock when Andrew sighs and asks, “yes or no?”

Neil says  _yes_  absentmindedly, still processing what the question is and  _why_.

Andrew leans forward and nudges his forehead against Neil’s, sending him backwards slightly.

Neil finally snaps out of it and grins. “Shut the fuck up. Yeah, I’m down for Vegas.”

The stupid grin paired with the ridiculous slang that slips so easily from Neil’s mouth makes Andrew breathless, and he’s suddenly taken aback by how much they’ve both changed.

“Yeah,” he says quietly, still in awe of Neil. “Vegas.”

So with those plans in mind, they plan a trip to Vegas.

…

It’s obvious that Andrew thought about this beforehand, because he tells Neil to pack for a week and to prepare for cramming his ass in the Maserati for three days.

Neil is not looking forward to being cramped all the time, but he likes the idea of being in such close proximity to Andrew, so he figures it’s worth it.

…

It’s only when they’re ten hours into the trip that Neil starts panicking.

There’s no real reason for it– Neil is safe and with Andrew on a trip  _he_ agreed to.

That doesn’t begin to explain the panic, the need  _to run run and run_ , when he looks at himself in the gas station bathroom. Doesn’t explain the gasping breaths he’s taking even after he splashed water on himself and to be  _fine_.

Andrew crashes in after Neil has spent decidedly  _too_ long in the bathroom, arms full of junk food and legs ready to kick something other than the door open.

He finds Neil panicking, and he doesn’t understand but he is there.

_You are Neil Josten, starting striker for PSU Foxes, and you are real._

…

When the storm has passed, Andrew dares to ask  _why_ , crossing boundaries that even Neil is surprised that he’s to let Andrew cross.

“Doing this– and don’t get me wrong, darling, I like doing this, being with you and roadtripping– it just. It just reminded me a bit too much of being on the run.”

Andrew stews in his anger, and he is reminded of just how much he would  _not_ hesitate to murder Mary if he had the chance.

But instead Andrew does not say anything, but if his hands turn white from clutching at the wheel out of anger, Neil doesn’t say anything.

…

They arrive in Vegas.

Neil wants to take a picture in front of the iconic sign. They do.

Exhausted, they check in at the luxury hotel, wading through seemingly pounds of smoke and the odd rhythm of the casinos to get to their room.

…

The next day is a blur. They wake up at eleven ( _they barely wake up so late it’s seemingly a dream_ ). 

Neil wakes up entangled in the large, sumptuous blankets, Andrew at his back despite them sleeping on opposite ends of their king size.

Neil does not remember what they do until five, but he just knows that it was calm and full of Andrew.

At five, Andrew leaves and tells Neil to watch something on TV (Neil ends up watching HGTV and being occupied for until seven. He has a reminder on his phone to ask Andrew if he can watch HGTV from home). Andrew comes back two hours later with new clothes (washed) and Uno.

Neil says that playing Uno with only two players isn’t as fun. Andrew tells Neil to shut the fuck up.

They play, and then they leave to play the  _real_ games.

…

At first they end up going to the hotel next to their current one and spend an hour or so gambling and playing cards.

Andrew is at speed; Neil is actually quite decent a Blackjack but he  _excels_ at BS.

The end up winning about $300. They go out and eat a buffet.

…

The next two days follow the same pattern, essentially.

But on the fourth day, Neil doesn’t know how they end up doing it, but he and Andrew break into the hotel pool after it closed.

They didn’t even mean to go swimming- they just happened to pass by the pool when they were done eating and Neil ended up picking the lock and now here they were, swimming in their underwear.

Andrew dunks Neil under water after Neil won’t stop splashing water in his face, and then he pulls him in for a kiss. Neil doesn’t think making out underwater is good for him but he still does it.

_(Later, Andrew asks what’s up with all the swimming_

_Neil just smiles)._

…

When they’re dry and clean, Neil asks Andrew if they can go out again.

Andrew is tired, but he says yes.

It’s 12am and Vegas is a night city, after all.

And like magic  _Neil and Andrew_  are  _Neil and Andrew_ \- but not.

Somehow being in a city they’ve never been before, surrounded by sin and lights and raw humanity, they’re more open. More…  _alive_.

Andrew’s speeding down some road, and without much thought Neil’s opening the sunroof and now he’s standing up on the seat and…

And Neil is free. He’s having the time of his life and Andrew’s right next to him.

Andrew thinks Neil is crazy, but he’s still speeding down the road, and now one hand is on Neil’s thigh as he’s shouting in delight, all the while savage and free.

 _Free, free, free_.

That’s all they can think about.

…

As they go to bed, facing each other, pinkies linked, Neil recounts stories of all the places he’s been and all the things he wants to do and Andrew thinks that  _he’s burning, he’s falling, he’s living._

He’s loving.


End file.
